


a grave bathed in light

by supernova_darling



Category: GreedFall (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Constantin's Death, Death, Grief/Mourning, M/M, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF GREEDFALL, Male De Sardet (GreedFall), Post-Canon, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernova_darling/pseuds/supernova_darling
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF GREEDFALLVasco doesn't know how to help de Sardet through his cousin's death, but he's trying.(Previously "the sun still rises even though you're gone." Took me almost nine months to think of a better fucking title.)
Relationships: De Sardet/Vasco (GreedFall), Kurt & De Sardet (GreedFall)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	a grave bathed in light

**Author's Note:**

> my de sardet's name is james because i'm Literally Incapable of naming male main characters anything else uhhh
> 
> i finished the game the other day after playing it for five days straight. the end fucking broke my heart ok like it's been three days and i haven't stopped crying about it. constantin is best boy and he deserved so much better than this shit!! i thought there was gonna be an option to save him and i'm rly rly sad there isn't. but also i get it bc that'd be too easy right? we can't have any good endings here no sir

When the creatures finally stopped attacking and wandered off back to wherever they came from, most of the Nauts and natives fighting alongside Vasco collapsed in exhaustion and relief. Síora had been struck by a Lewolan’s tail moments before, and Vasco rushed to help her. “I’m fine,” she assured him, and when he didn’t listen: “It’s not deep. Someone else can bandage me up. Go to him,” she insisted. “He’ll need you.” Vasco knew she was right, so once he’d asked one of the Nauts to help her, he followed the path up the mountain.

He found Petrus a bit of the way up, worn out but fine nonetheless. Vasco made sure of that before continuing on, and finally, he entered the cave. It greeted him with eerie silence, his footsteps the only sound. The center of the cave, it’s heart, was silent as well. A huge tree stood on the farthest side of the cavern from Vasco, a blinding white glow surrounding it.

And there, in the middle of the silence, two people laid side by side, unmoving. “James!” he shouted, panicked, but thankfully his lover sat up a moment later without any visible wounds.

The other person didn’t move, and when he got closer, Vasco saw the blade sticking out of their stomach. He felt a deep sadness for the boy he’d grown to care about after their months together at sea, for the innocent young man Constantin had been when they’d first arrived. But he was grateful the monster he’d become was finally gone.

Vasco knelt in front of James and took his shaking hands in his own. “James…”

“I killed him,” James whispered. “He trusted me, he _loved_ me, and I _killed_ him.”

Vasco knew he couldn’t fix this, no matter how much he wanted to. But he hoped his words would at least calm the tremor in James’ hands. “You didn’t have a choice, James. That was not your cousin anymore.” James shook his head and went to protest, but Vasco didn’t give him the chance. “It _wasn’t him,_ okay? It wasn’t. Constantin was already gone.”

“Then it is my fault for not saving him before he was lost,” James murmured. “All of this is my fault, I was supposed to protect him, I should have _saved_ him…” His voice was so, so quiet, and he sounded achingly tired. Not knowing what to say, Vasco wrapped both arms around James and pulled him to his chest. James fell into him and laid his forehead on Vasco’s shoulder, but he didn’t cry. His entire body shook and his hands gripped the back of Vasco’s coat, but he shed no tears.

The cavern remained as quiet as ever. Vasco was unsure how much time had passed when the silence was interrupted by heavy footsteps approaching them. James’ tremors had mostly been quelled, and Vasco released him gently to stand. James didn’t move, only let his arms fall and cast his gaze to the ground. Vasco turned around as Kurt jumped down from the ledge.

Kurt stopped short when he saw Constantin’s body, taking a step back. When he walked up to them, his footsteps were much softer. He stared at Constantin for a long, long moment, and the hurt in his eyes was so strong that Vasco looked away.

After a minute or so, Kurt finally spoke. “We should go,” he murmured. James stood up slowly, staring at nothing in particular. When he moved towards Constantin’s body and went to pick him up, Kurt’s face twisted into something akin to pain. “Oh, no, green blood, I can—you don’t have to do that,” he tried, but James ignored him. His hands still shook as he lifted Constantin from the ground and cradled him to his chest. James walked by the both of them, staring forward with empty eyes, and the two of them followed at a distance.

James carried Constantin all the way back to the village, refusing to rest or let anyone else touch Constantin’s body. When they arrived, the sun had already set, so James laid Constantin on the grass in the meadow near their camp, far but still within sight. He sat next to him and stared into the distance. They always kept someone up on watch, so it was easy to keep an eye on him. Vasco was reluctant to go to sleep, but Kurt promised to keep James safe, and so he slept.

Sometime before dawn, while Kurt was on watch, Vasco woke to James walking over to their camp. “Kurt,” he said, quiet. “Can you—I need your help.” Kurt stood without a word.

Vasco stood as well and walked over to James, until he was close enough to touch but still managing to feel miles away. “Do you want me there?” he asked gently. James nodded without meeting his eyes.

The three of them walked together to Constantin’s body. With a glance from James, Kurt knelt to lift Constantin carefully from the ground. Vasco walked beside James as he led them through the forest, Kurt close behind. At some point, James reached for Vasco’s hand, and Vasco felt the shaking he couldn’t see in the dark. He squeezed James’ hand tightly, hoping to at least offer some respite from what he was going through.

Finally, they reached a small clearing before a cliff, facing east, with the ocean on the distant horizon. Kurt laid Constantin down on the soft grass. They all worked to dig a shallow grave facing the sea. By the time they’d finished, the coming sunrise was hinted by a soft glow on the horizon. Kurt helped James lower Constantin into the ground.

James knelt next to his cousin for a long moment. He put his fingers to his lips and pressed them against Constantin’s forehead and whispered something unintelligible. Finally, he stood, and began to bury his cousin. Kurt and Vasco helped, and after they were done, as James went to sit next to the grave, the first real rays of sun broke the horizon. Vasco sat next to him, and Kurt on the other side of the grave. They stayed like that for awhile, watching the sun bath everything in its light.

Eventually, Kurt stood and looked at Constantin’s grave for a moment longer before walking over to James. “I should get back to camp, the others will be waking soon.” Though his face didn’t show much emotion, his voice was heavy and rough, as though he’d been crying sometime earlier. He put his hand on James’ shoulder. “You gonna be alright, green blood?”

“Yeah,” James told him, taking a deep breath. “I think so, yeah.”

“Good,” Kurt said with a nod. He squeezed James’ shoulder once more before departing back towards camp.

Vasco and James sat in silence for quite a bit longer before James spoke. “I thought… I thought, no matter what happens, he’ll always be there, by my side.” He took a deep breath. “He’s everything good in this world that I’ve ever known. I didn’t think something like this could even _happen_ to him. I told myself he was safe, because he was _good,_ and that should’ve been enough for the world to spare him from its horrors.” James shook his head. “I thought I did everything right to protect him, to keep him safe. I never…” He closed his eyes, and the next part came out a whisper. “I never thought I’d lose him.”

Vasco really didn’t know what to say, but he spoke nonetheless. “I wish I could say something to make everything better, but the truth is I don’t know why any of this happened. I’m so… I’m so sorry it had to be you, James. You both deserve so much better.”

James leaned into Vasco and laid his head on Vasco’s shoulder. Vasco wrapped an arm around James, and they stayed like that and watched the sunrise until it emerged completely from behind the ocean.

“He’ll never see another sunrise,” James said suddenly, and when Vasco looked at him, his eyes were filled with tears. “That’s why I wanted him here, for the sunrise. It was always his favorite. He hated sundown; he was afraid of the dark, even now. Sometimes, sometimes he’d wake in the middle of the night, scared to the bone, and make one of the palace guards fetch me from my house.” He blinked, and the tears fell down his face. “He was never able to fall back asleep, so I’d stay up with him, no matter how tired I was, until sunrise. Until he wasn’t scared anymore.” James made a small sound, something like a laugh but with his voice full of tears. “And of course we’d both be tired in the early afternoon, and the prince would shout when he caught us asleep in the library, or the parlor, or some other place not meant for sleeping… But we’d laugh about it later. Constantin could always get me to laugh.” James’ voice broke a little bit at the end, and he made a sort of hurt noise in the back of his throat.

Vasco pulled him closer to his side. “What other stories do you have?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t make James stop thinking about Constantin but hoping he could bring up more good memories.

James’ mouth curled into a slight smile. “Oh, I’ve got so many. Once—okay, we’re twelve, and Constantin’s still got one more tooth to lose, and he’s mad because I’ve lost all mine, and we happen to stumble into his father’s _armory,_ and…”

The next hour consisted of James telling stories from his and Constantin’s childhood, and though the tears kept falling down his face, his eyes were brighter by the time they left the clearing, and Vasco knew he’d be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not liable for any emotional hurt this caused don't fight me
> 
> i'm dying to talk about greedfall so comments are very appreciated!!


End file.
